Specifically the one that tries to masquerade as SO content. I find this the electronic equivalent of the "special advertising sections" in print magazines that join the stiff cardboard ads in the trashcan on sight.

I used to really hate ads. I thought they were the bane of the web. Then along came StackOverflow. But it's not what you think. I didn't change my mind because StackOverflow is ad supported. I changed my mind because the hyphen-site isn't (at least, not relative to subscriptions).

Now, when I look at these two specific sites and compare the non-ad site vs the ad-supported site, I'll take the ad-supported site every time. Of course, these aren't the only two business models out there, but the dichotomy really changed my mind about the place of ads on the web and what the alternatives might look like if ads ever cease to be a viable option.

-1 for a moderator advocating ad blocking on a site that bases its revenue on ads.
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GEOCHETOct 1 '09 at 16:32

8

Last I checked I'm a moderator, not an employee of StackOverflow LLC.
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TheTXIOct 1 '09 at 16:33

2

@Rich B: I disagree. Ads that annoy have the opposite effect of that intended by the advertiser. Advocating a wholesale block would be bad, but the ability to block a specific ad someone finds annoying is a feature for both the user and the advertiser, even if the advertiser doesn't always like to admit it.
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Joel CoehoornOct 1 '09 at 16:35

16

My responsibilities towards the websites lies solely in keeping the peace and helping clean up the mess after you go through your near daily rounds of rubbing your ass on the carpet.
–
TheTXIOct 1 '09 at 16:35

2

Well you certainly won't be an employee of StackOverflow, LLC after this bout of insubordination!
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Hilarious Comedy PestoOct 1 '09 at 16:35

I heard that Alex Papadimoulis and Alex Papadimoulis got into a fight recently over a heated debate on the ethics of ad-blocking. It should come as no surprise that Alex Papadimoulis won.
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Hilarious Comedy PestoOct 1 '09 at 16:45

I actually thought these were pretty clever as far as sidebar ads go. Particularly the tags on the bottom "fake" question. When the sidebar ads are obviously tailored for SO specifically, they immediately grab my attention way more than "generic" ads.

well look guys it's really a witty advertisement, i can tell they put some thought into it to make it look like the site , andt here's a little sefl-deprecation comedy there too! ha ha ha good on them to be able to poke a little fun at themselves! its really a testament to their dedication and desire to "fit in" with the "community" that they spent all that time and effort. boy i shure wish other advertiser scould be this clever and considerate!

This isn't the first ad of its kind I've seen on SO. there was another a while ago that confused users by imitating the tab-style layout of the SO navigation.

Any ad that attempts to trick people by imitating site content, or pretend it's not advertising, is underhanded.

Attempting to weasel out of that with "but WE'RE not doing that, we're IRONICALLY poking fun at people that do that!"

... well, maybe you're doing that as well, but you crafted an ad that imitated site content to do it, so mainly you're engaging in the very activity you're deriding. slightly clever, but wholely hypocritical, and still underhanded.

it annoys me that a site I enjoy as much as SO allows advertisers to use these tactics.

It gets old after 3 or 4 viewings, but it's fairly legitimate, and fun, to use that kind of device in order to get noticed. The woot ad that really made me laugh, though, was the yellow flashy one (“Click here to prove me wrong against my boss and make me cry” – felt like at the office :-)